This invention relates to an apparatus for opening textile fiber bales and is of the type which has a rapidly rotating fiber opening (fiber removing) device (opening roller) which travels back and forth above a plurality of serially arranged fiber bales. The teeth or needles of the opening device project through a grate travelling with the opening device. The fiber tufts torn from the upper surface of the fiber bales by the opening roller are thrown thereby into a pneumatic conveying device. The bars of the grate are open at one end and are rigidly connected, at their other end, with a pivotally supported arm.
As the opening device is placed in its working position on the top of a bale, the grate bars are pushed upwardly by the top bale face. In prior art constructions, with the rotatably supported grate bar-connecting arm there is associated an abutment which limits the swinging motion of the grate. In case of particularly dense (substantially compressed) parts of the bale surface an additional upwardly surging vertical force may affect the grate. If, during such an occurrence the grate is already in engagement with the abutment, that is, the grate has already reached its limit position, the additional force may upwardly deform the grate which may adversely affect the operation of the bale opener.